Correction appended
President Barack Obama will announce today that Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., is his nominee for commerce secretary, according to multiple media reports. Gov. John Lynch, D-N.H., has strongly implied that he will appoint a Republican to fill Gregg's seat.
Gregg's potential appointment had previously been viewed as having significant implications for the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. If Gov. John Lynch, D-N.H., had decided to pick a Democrat to fill Gregg's seat, and if Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken maintains his lead over Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., in a recount, the Democratic party would have a filibuster-proof majority of 60 seats in the Senate, including two independents who caucus with the Democrats.
"I have made it clear to the Senate leadership on both sides of the aisle and to the governor that I would not leave the Senate if I felt my departure would cause a change in the makeup of the Senate," Gregg said in a statement on Monday.
The Manchester Union Leader and The New York Times both reported that Bonnie Newman, Gregg's former congressional chief of staff, is a top contender to succeed him in the Senate. Newman has told friends that she would not seek reelection in 2010 if she is appointed to fill the vacancy, leaving the seat open, according to The Times.
Some political analysts have suggested that Reps. Carol Shea Porter, D-N.H., and Paul Hodes '72, D-N.H., are likely candidates in 2010. Former Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., may be a contender in that election as well. None of the three have publicly commented on a potential run.
Gregg, who attended Columbia University and Boston University Law School, worked as a lawyer before being elected to the House of Representatives in 1981. He was governor of New Hampshire from 1989 to 1993, and was then elected to the Senate. Gregg and his wife, Kathleen, have three children, all of whom attended Dartmouth: Molly Gregg '00, Sarah Gregg '02 and Joshua Gregg '06. Gregg received an honorary degree from Dartmouth in 2006.
The original version of this article incorrectly stated that Former Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., had recently been named chair of the New Hampshire Republican party. In fact, Sununu's father, John H. Sununu, was recently named to that position. In addition, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., was not the Commencement speaker in 2006, as was originally reported, though he did receive an honorary degree from the College in that year.
